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The dotBiz Quick Guide to Google Adwords

In 1995, two Stanford University computer science graduates, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, met. Three years later Google was born, and now it's estimated that between them, they are worth $26 Billion - and every time you click on one of the ads on a Google search results page, that number gets bigger. Welcome to Google AdWords.

One of the original AdWords engineers gives some background: "Before the fall of 2000, Google offered advertising through Premium Sponsorships, but there was no way for advertisers to set up campaigns for themselves. We ran a limited test, showing a little link that said 'see your ad here'.

After the link went live, we eagerly waited for the first advertiser to sign up. Within minutes, our first AdWords customer had created the very first ad through online sign up. They were a small business that sold live mail order lobsters. Less than half an hour later their ad was live on Google! These guys had never considered using online marketing before, but realised they could just do it themselves right then and there."

And that's the key - people who had previously thought that advertising on the internet was beyond them, started to appreciate that they could get their message in front of people looking for exactly what they were selling.

What made AdWords stand out from the other "Sponsored Links" campaigns on offer was that up until Google came along, every time your ad was displayed you had to pay, regardless of whether anyone actually clicked on it. Google's philosophy was that you should only pay if someone does click on your ad. This is music to the ears of advertisers - only having to pay when someone clicks through to your site; someone who is already interested in what you're selling.

Now, just to clarify exactly what AdWords are - when you search on Google, AdWords are the ads at the top and down the right hand side of the results page, marked "Sponsored Links". The remaining links that take up the majority of the page are sites that Google itself thinks are relevant to what you're looking for, and have not been paid for.

A whole new industry has blossomed around AdWords, with 'specialists' in every corner of the globe offering to set up and run your campaign. You can do it yourself, though.if you have the time to spend on it. It's £5 to set up an account, you specify how much you are willing to pay each time someone clicks on your ad, you specify how much you want to spend per day, you word the ads, you decide what search phrases you want your ads to appear with - you are in total control.

The more people wanting their ads displayed against the same search phrases, the more you will have to pay, so finding a niche can be key. One of my clients brings in the vast majority of his business through just three search phrases. Only a couple of other businesses use the same phrases, so he pays as little as 4p each time someone clicks on his ad!

Take a look at Google AdWords, or its main competition Overture, and see if your business could benefit.

Read more about Google Adwords with The Web Workshop

Click here for a list of useful links

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